I have been told by a couple doctors that my scar is too low (below the octipal ridge) to try and revise. My question is what about revising the two ends of the scar and not touching the part that is too low? Is this possible or is the only way to revise a scar is to do the whole thing? Is it also possible to get some grafts while redoing the two ends of the scar? The widest part of my scar is around 9mm. Thanks

BigBill,

Sectional scar revision may be possible. Whether or not you have the elasticity to remove 9mm at all let alone obtaining hair to transplant however, is questionable. You may want to speak to one of our physicians and see what can be done for you.

All the Best,

Bill (Falc)

In an ideal world it can possibly be done but only a doc can answer the question on seeing you in person to determine whether or not its worth the risk. Scars especially in poor positions can stretch back unfortunately - A Doc could feel everything is still in your favour in those two areas and harvest some hair at the same time , however there is still a risk and i would honestly say NO guarantee the area revised may stretch back rendering the attempt pointless. This is only my opinion.

Have you thought of FUE'ing into the most problem areas to help break them down?

I have thought of FUE but I will need more HT's in the future and I would probably wait till then.

We do lots of scar work, feel free to post some pics. It may not be that bad, and your idea of addressing specific sites sometimes works well. It can avoid a "big whack" and you can even do just one area and see if you get the result you want and then proceed with other areas. If you are a bad scar former, that may give confidence to proceed with more, or show that doing nothing is the best approach.

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

My scar is below the occipital bump, I've had fue into, and I'm at 1 month post op atm.

Hi

Ive also had FUE into scar...and need alot more to repair my 4 other strip scars...FUE is the only option for me.

Post a picture for us to see.

Remember a scar can re-stretch...it happened to me.

I'm only 1 month post fue into scar, so no pictures of relevance to post yet.

Yes, I would like to see some pics of FUE into Scar. I will try to get pics of mine.

Bill..I have pic's on my blog check it out.

BigBill,
I wouldn't be too discouraged. While it is true that horizontal surgical scars have more of a tendency to widen when they are in that lower section below the occipital bump, I have had a lot of success with scars down there by limiting my excision to only being 5mm wide. If you leave the sutures in a little longer (2-2 1/2 weeks) and keep the patient from flexing the neck during the early weeks, I find that they are improved most of the time. When you go over 5-6mm in width, the scar stretches too much and, like a rubber band, just re-stretches to what it was or worse. If you gain and keep the 5mm reduction of scar width, then you can either do it again a few months later, or you can then FUE into the scar with better results. We often combine tattoo dots along with FUE to get the best result on a scar. If a patient wants more hair transplanted, I would definitely argue against taking any more donor hair contiguous with that lower scar, and would definitely warn against taking donor hair PLUS taking the whole scar out. I can almost guarantee you the scar will be much worse than it is now.
Improving donor scars is like sneaking up on a bear. You go slow and easy, and the bear doesn't turn around and bite you.
Mike Beehner, M.D.